Ohio school in football rape case adds guards

STEUBENVILLE, OHIO — An eastern Ohio school district added unarmed security guards to its buildings amid increased attention over two high school football players who are facing rape charges.

The superintendent of Steubenville City Schools said Tuesday the district posted a guard at each of the school’s four buildings to improve students’ safety.

Superintendent Mike McVey says the decision to add guards came Monday, before the schools were placed on lockdown Tuesday morning. Teachers stopped instruction and locked their classroom doors for about 1 ½ hours while police determined the threat wasn’t viable.

A police report says a student described seeing a Facebook post indicating a potential threat, but the post couldn’t be retrieved.

The football players are accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in August. Their lawyers deny the charges. Their trial is set for next month in juvenile court in Steubenville, a city of about 18,000

Potential witnesses have been pressured not to testify and some are reluctant to come forward, attorneys for the players said Monday as they consider whether to ask the trial be moved and closed to the public. At issue is publicity surrounding the case and the concerns some witnesses have that their names and addresses may be published through social media and on the internet.

The current juvenile court judge overseeing the case previously declined a request to close the proceedings.

“They are reluctant to sacrifice their college career, their reputation, or their otherwise good standing in whatever community they may be found for fear of being vilified, and certain personal information finding its way on the internet,” said Walter Madison, an attorney for 16-year-old defendant Ma’Lik Richmond.

Social media and the internet are playing a crucial role in the case. Hackers last week released a video purportedly showing a Steubenville student joking about the alleged attack and an attorney for the girl’s family said online commentary about the case made the situation harder. Another Steubenville student dropped a suit last month over comments on a blog that suggested he might have been involved.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, whose office is overseeing the case’s prosecution, said the decision will be up to the judge.

“There is obviously a lot going on in the social media and there’s a lot going on in the mainstream media, but ultimately this case will be decided by a juvenile judge who will listen to the evidence, and the case will be presented no differently than it would in any other case,” DeWine said.

Brian Duncan, an attorney for the other 16-year-old defendant, Trent Mays, also said Monday he’s considering a similar request.

“We just want to make sure our client and the other defendant have their proper day in court,” Duncan said.

Public interest in the case increased with the online circulation of the video that shows one young man joking about the accuser following the alleged attack. The hackers who released the video allege more people were involved and should be held accountable.

On Monday, an attorney said the young man, a 2012 graduate of Steubenville High School, regretted the comments, made when he was intoxicated.

The man is not a suspect in the investigation and was not present at the alleged attack, said attorney Dennis McNamara of Columbus.